Special to L. Neil Smith’s The Libertarian Enterprise

Not too long after the fiasco at Charlottesville, Christopher Cantwell was arrested for pepper spraying a leftist protestor who was most likely a member of Antifa. At one point, I had been a regular listener of his podcast “Radical Agenda.” The one thing that you could say about Christopher Cantwell, was that he never shied away from controversy, even among his fellow libertarians. He was a man that was never afraid to speak his mind, even when it got him frequently banned from libertarian conferences and various gatherings. It also cost him his job as co-host on the libertarian radio show “Free Talk Live.” He was a guy you either loved or loved to hate. Personally, I enjoyed hearing what he had to say because he actually had the courage to bring up subjects that many libertarians were and still are too afraid to touch.

One of these subjects was the infiltration of the libertarian movement by Social Justice Warriors who were more interested in poisoning the well than they were of advancing the movement. Cantwell was also one of the few libertarians that saw the writing on the wall about how increasingly violent the left was becoming way before the riots at Trump’s inauguration and Berkeley. I also like how he was one of the few libertarians who understand the importance of preserving Western values, which is something that many so-called libertarians at Reason, still can’ t comprehend. Sadly, he chose to go down the path of White Nationalism.

The problem with White Nationalism is that it is nothing more than another form of identity politics, though as Tucker Carlson once put it, it shouldn’t be that big of a surprise that with all the other groups pushing identity politics that white males would eventually want to get in on the act themselves. Still, I believe that identity politics does nothing but poison the well for numerous reasons. One of which, is that it actually alienates potential allies for whatever cause you may be trying to advance. A perfect example of this is Black Lives Matter. Police brutality is a real issue that effects everybody, yet the members of BLM will throw hissy fits whenever somebody has the audacity to say that all lives matter. They are so desperate to push the narrative that there is a genocidal campaign against black people that they will use police shootings that were justified, as their rallying points. This is one of the many reasons that I have advised all libertarians or anyone serious about law enforcement reform to stay clear of this organization.

Another problem with Identity Politics is that whenever the objectives of an organization are achieved, they usually look for other reasons to justify their existence. A great example is the Civil Rights organizations that look for phantom racists to fight in the form of Confederate monuments or police shootings (whether they are justified or not). It is the same with third wave feminists who have to invent a “ Rape Culture” to rail against. Even gay rights organizations, now that there are few legal obstacles in their way, have to bully Christian businesses into catering same sex weddings. It seems to me that identity politics, even when it is practiced with the best intentions, ends up becoming toxic over time. This White Nationalist movement is no exception. It also encourages entire groups to remain in a state of victimhood, where they believe that no matter what they do or how hard they try, they will never be able get anywhere in life because the deck is always going to be stacked against them. That is how you end up with massive groups of people who will never have the motivation to work hard, which is also how you end up with more ghettos.

Christopher Cantwell on the other hand has become so far involved with this White Nationalist movement that he now uses words such as “The Jewish Media.” When I read his last article on his website, he was espousing so much Holocaust denial that it felt like I had visited the website of Stormfront. While I feel that I can’t fellow Cantwell on his misguided path, I will say one thing in his defense. I think the way that he has been denied bail for something that was very likely an act of self-defense is deplorable. I don’t care what Cantwell believes in, there is absolutely no excuse for the authorities to be treating him like he is a member of Isis that has a one-way ticket to a non-extradition country.